Excellencies,
Ahead of the Meeting of the Digital and Technology Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) in Takasaki on 29-30 April, we are writing to share with you some considerations and recommendations by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on behalf of our global, cross-sectoral membership of more than 45 million companies in over 130 countries.
ICC firmly believes that digital transformation can be a formidable engine for innovation, competitiveness, sustainable and resilient economic growth, as well as a powerful catalyst for social and economic empowerment for everyone. Realising this potential requires appropriate governance and policy frameworks that are developed with multistakeholder input, and encourage responsible, interoperable, and human-centric adoption of digital technologies. Without appropriate frameworks, digital transformation can exacerbate existing divides and be disruptive to our economies and our world. This can lead to further mistrust of digital technologies and related business models, erode public confidence in their adoption, and drive policy development that fragment the internet and erect barriers to digital commerce and trade globally.
As the international community continues to grapple with and rebuild from global health, financial and geopolitical crises that pose real risks to very functioning of our rules-based multilateral system, having appropriate policy settings in place to enable digital transformation for all will be essential. We count on the continued leadership of G7 countries to promote the responsible development, deployment and use of digital technologies that depend on broader enabling policy frameworks founded on trust, respect for human rights, global trade, open markets, the rule of law, sustained public and private sector investments, and technology neutrality.
In this context, we write to draw your attention to three specific policy areas where we recommend interventions:
1 Devise long-term strategies to achieve universal meaningful connectivity
Digital technologies have proven to be strategic assets, enhancing economies, and improving the wellbeing of those who can access and use them. But access to, and use of, digital technologies is uneven, a factor that continues to weigh on the global economy. Indeed, estimates show that almost half of the world’s population remains offline. Significant gaps in usage and access continue to hinder people, businesses, or even entire countries from fully benefitting from the opportunities of digitalisation.
To address this systemic challenge, we call on the G7 to resolutely commit to long-term strategies that boost investment across the entire digital value chain, including infrastructure, applications and services, as well as STEAM and digital skills development, in close partnership with the private sector.
The G7 should:
Recognise the role of digital technologies, in particular meaningful connectivity in accelerating and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.
Work towards policy, legal and regulatory environments that not only promote, but actively foster private sector investment, competition, and innovation in the development and deployment of (i) broadband services and connectivity devices, to expand affordable access and end-user choice for broadband connectivity; (ii) content that helps drive and sustain adoption; and (iii) digital literacy and skills development.
Recognise that an open, stable, and unfragmented Internet is vital for business operations worldwide and a prerequisite to the effective functioning of public services; and work to avoid policy actions that risk siloing the Internet to ensure its social and economic benefits can be delivered to all.
2 Develop a robust global framework on cybersecurity
Digitalisation is now an intrinsic part of every country’s sustainable economic and social development. However, digital transformation also comes with cybersecurity risks. This tension between the need to close digital divides, versus the lack of a strong cybersecurity posture, poses a real risk to achieving a safe, secure, and rights respecting digital ecosystem. While policymakers and the private sector are continuously working to increase the resilience of digital infrastructure, software, and devices, this has proven insufficient in breaking the growing trend of cyberthreats. This equally depends on the realisation of existing agreed norms and international law.
We urge the G7 to show leadership in advancing rules, norms, and principles of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and promoting international and multistakeholder cooperation to address the growing trend of cybercrime, while recognising the need of states worldwide for capacity building and technical assistance.
The G7 should:
Recognise the importance of a shared, whole-of-society, approach to cybersecurity capacity building and mainstream cybersecurity into the development agenda.
Call for the establishment of common goals that define the scope, ambition and required capacity building support needed to implement existing norms and international law. The UN Open-Ended Working Group on the Security of and in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies is well suited to set such goals and pave a shared path forward, ultimately resulting in a concrete yet country-specific framework for implementation.
Work together to ensure that international instruments on cybercrime enable effective cooperation between law enforcement agencies and do not counter or duplicate existing international efforts.
3 Advance data free flows with trust
Cross-border flows of both personal and non-personal data underpin every aspect of today’s private and public sector activities, processes, and services. They are also essential to cross-border cooperation in today’s world, enabling global trade, facilitating coordinated responses to public health crises, climate change or humanitarian crises. However, mistrust continues to grow over concerns that national public policy objectives such as national security, privacy protection and economic safety would be compromised if data transcends borders. This mistrust increasingly fuels restrictive data governance policies and regulatory measures such as digital protectionism, data mercantilism and data localisation.
We count on the G7 to promote policies that foster responsible and interoperable cross-border data transfer, data access, and data sharing. Such a policy approach could help reinforce trust, boost data-driven innovation, and tap into the potential societal and economic benefits of data sharing, while protecting the rights of individuals and supporting the ethical use of data. The solution for moving towards a horizontal, flexible, and technologically neutral framework that guarantees the effective protection of people’s privacy and security in the digital world depends on governments working together, with multistakeholder input, to developer interoperable policy frameworks.
The G7 should:
Effectively operationalise the concept of ‘data free flows with trust’ (DFFT), as first proposed by Japan in 2019 and widely supported in international dialogues. ICC supports the roadmap for cooperation on DFFT formulated by the G7 in 2021 and the action plan for promoting data flows agreed by the G7 in 2022.
Recognise and widely promote the implementation of the OECD Principles on Government Access to Personal Data Held by Private Sector Entities to provide a solid foundation for further development of the free flow of trusted data among OECD countries and beyond.
Advance the ongoing WTO Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce (JSI). WTO e-commerce negotiations provide an opportunity to establish a holistic package of trade disciplines, rules and assistance that can help promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Part of that package should include a permanent prohibition of customs duties on electronic transmissions.
Accelerate the implementation of the Framework for G7 Collaboration on Electronic Transferable Records which offers significant potential to remove costly paper-based processes from the global trading system. We consider this agenda essential to enable more small businesses to benefit from international commerce — and, moreover, rendering global supply chains more resilient to exogenous shocks.
ICC will continue to provide support and meaningful business contribution to the G7 to ensure that digital technologies work for everyone, every day, everywhere.
